Skin Deep
by MikoMimi
Summary: Starting where Chisami and Kanako get kidnapped. Kiri is taken hostage for being cheeky and will probably pay for it. Can Narumi save her in time? KxN
1. Chapter 1

-1Hey everyone. This fanficiton is based on the manga Beauty Pop. It takes place when Chisami and Kanako get kidnapped. I'm taking it from there and making it a bit more mature. It'll get lighter though after a few chapters I think, depending on the response I get. Anyway, I hope you like it.

Skin Deep

Chapter 1

"Hello?" Ochiai looked up from the computer as he picked up his cell phone.

"O-ochiai-sempai?"

"Oh, it's you Komatsu-kun. I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now… Huh? What? You found Chisami-chan?"

---

Kiri entered the abandoned warehouse yard cautiously. There were three different buildings that the kidnappers could be in, and she didn't want to walk into a trap. A sweep of the area, and a bicycle in the front, quickly led her to the side of the warehouse on the left.

Kiri wasn't a spiritual person, but she said a quick prayer that everything would be alright. With that, she climbed onto a dumpster and shimmied through a broken window, slightly scratching up her left arm. Once she was inside, Kiri realized that luck might be on her side, as she was in the room where the hostages were.

She crouched down when she heard an unfamiliar voice speaking,

"You will stay here until Narumi gives himself up to us, you here?"

"Uh-uh-okay…"

"_That's Kanako's voice,_" Kiri realized.

"Now sit down!" yelled the strange male voice as he shoved Kanako to the floor.

Kiri winced as Kanako let out a cry. She would have to stay hidden until the captives left the area. Hopefully it wouldn't be long.

---

Narumi rushed through the crowds of the city with Ochiai, Kei, and Komatsu hot on his heels.

Komatsu took a deep breath so that his shout would reach the light haired boy a few yards ahead of him.

"Kiri was headed toward the old industrial area. If we make a left in a few streets, we'll be on the shortest path there."

Narumi whirled around, forcing the others to stop as well.

"Mussy-head went? By herself?"

"Yeah, she must have recognized the area when I showed her the picture of Kanako being held captive."

"What was she thinking!?"

Ochiai frowned and said, "We're probably looking for an abandoned store house or factory. Something a bit off the main road."

Narumi nodded and the group took off again.

"_Mussy-head, hold on_."

---

The kidnapper and his accomplices - based on the number of voices, Kiri assumed there were two - had left the room and Kiri slowly made her way through the maze of crates to where Kanako and Chisami were tied up.

"Kiri!" Kanako whispered in surprise.

Kiri made a motion to be quiet as she untied Kanako.

"I came through a window behind a bunch of crates," she said quietly, trying not to belay her nervousness. Her usually blasé demeanor was replaced with concern as she heard the voices of the captors getting closer again. "Go quickly!"

Kanako wiped her tear-streaked face and muttered how sorry she was before running off in the direction Kiri came from. All she could do now was go find help for her dearest friend.

Kiri looked toward the door, then toward the silent Chisami. Knowing that there was no way to untie Chisami and get out, she moved the young girl behind some crates and undid her gag.

"Be quiet until someone comes to get you."

With that, Kiri moved to where the two girls were before just as the men came back into the room.

"What the hell?" one of the captors shouted. The others rushed in at his exclamation. The one with the short dark hair came forward and grabbed Kiri by the front of her shirt, knocking her cap from her head.

"For a minute," he said with a laugh, "I though you were a boy. You're just a little girl though, so if you tell me where the others went, I may let you go."

"Shove it," Kiri said angrly, "You don't scare me."

"I don't scare you? We'll have to change that then, won't we?" He flung Kiri against some nearby boxes and smirked. "Smartass…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Boss!" Another man ran in and addressed the man who had attacked Kiri. "There seems to be a group of boys poking around the area. Should we take care of them?"

The man, now known as boss, looked over at the girl trying to pick herself off the ground. He grunted and motioned to his subordinates to pick her up.

"We no longer have the bait to catch that brat Narumi. We'll go headquarters and regroup."

"And the girl?" another man asked.

The boss laughed. "I think she's gonna be fun."

With that, the group left and Chisami left out a soft cry.

---

Narumi ran from building to building recklessly pushing open doors and making no attempt to keep his presence hidden. Ochiai and the others were right behind him, ready to give assistance if necessary. Kei's serious face was a little unnerving, but it made him feel good to know his friends were right behind him. Walking into what was once a lunch area, Narumi spotted a figure running from behind some bushes toward the group.

"Kanako!" Komatsu shouted and hugged his trembling friend.

"What happened?" Ochiai asked, concern for the girl and the situation evident in his voice. A quick look at Narumi made it clear that his friend was doing even worse than he was. Narumi had a sister and an unwilling friend in there. He would deny it, but Kazuhiko knew his friend was worried about Kiri just as much as he was Chisami.

Kanako stuttered and her tears wouldn't stop, but she pointed toward the warehouse where she was being held. This was all the information that the unusually silent Narumi needed and he sped off in the direction given with Ochiai close behind.

---

Narumi couldn't move the doors to the old warehouse by himself, but with the help of Ochiai, it slowly slid open to reveal a large, dark room. It was mostly empty, so the two headed toward a partially open door at the back of the complex.

"Is anyone there?" Narumi shouted.

"Brother?" Chisami cried out in relief.

"Chisami!" Narumi ran to where the voice of his sister came from and made quick work of the ropes that bound her. While they hugged each other, Ochiai looked around the smaller room filled with old appliance part containers.

"Where's Kiri?"

Narumi's head perked up and he slowly let go of Chisami to stand her up.

"Kiri hid me after releasing Kanako. Then a man came in and threw her over there" Chisami motioned to the broken crate on one side of the room. She didn't notice, but the two boys saw that a small amount of blood was smeared on the floor. "They took her away with them because she said she wasn't afraid of them."

Chisami started to cry again and Ochiai and Narumi led her back to the others. Ochiai then called to have his family's limo pick them up.

All the while, Narumi didn't say a word.

"_Kiri, why do you have to be so stubborn?_"


	2. Chapter 2

-1I think I forgot to add it in the last chapter, but I don't own any of the characters from Beauty Pop. I own a computer, a crappy keyboard, and a Starbuck's gift card which are the source and reason for this story. This applies to all chapters, so don't sue me. And as always, reviews are appreciated.

Skin Deep

Chapter 2

Narumi was again silently pacing behind Ochiai, this time in his own home, as his dark haired friend tried to send an e-mail to the captors to see if they could get Kiri back. Worry was evident on his unusually stoic face.

"_Why did she take Chisami's place? Where is she? Have they hurt her?_"

The thoughts circulated through Narumi's head like a broken record until Ochiai's voice cleared.

"They replied almost right away," Ochiai began, "and they addressed it to Narumi." He moved out of the way to allow Narumi to sit down where he was.

_Narumi Shogo,_

_It seems as the though person in our possession is of some value to you. Maybe she's your girlfriend. I didn't know you had such plain tastes. She's very quiet, but if you hit her hard enough she'll scream. You should try it some time. If you want her back, head to the 5th level of Mount Fuji tonight and bring me a case with your signed withdrawal slip from the academy's next hairstyling competition. No one else, just you._

Narumi's expression became more dark with each passing second. As soon as he was done, he slammed his fists on the desk and laid his head in his arms.

"Narumi?" Kei asked. Kanako and Komatsu also looked worriedly at their friend.

Narumi stood and motioned to Ochiai. "Get the withdrawal slip from my school's hairstyling competition off the website. I'm going to get ready for tonight."

Ochiai nodded and watched as his friend left the room before reading the message himself and allowing the other's to do as well.

---

Kiri rubbed her head as she sat up. She was sore and hungry. The drive to wherever she was now located was bumpy, and the pushing and shoving of her captors didn't help. The boss was the one who had caused the most damage though. She propped herself up against a dirty wall and examined her ankle, which was swollen and most likely sprained. There were also bruises in the shapes of hands at her wrists and neck; warnings to not be so mouthy.

Kiri smirked in irony and pain as she shifted her body. Who did she think she was? Going in to save her friends was a joke.

Before she could beat herself up anymore, the boss came in and tossed the girl over his shoulder. She knew not to fight back.

"Your boyfriend is coming to get you," said the boss as he sat Kiri down to tie her up.

Kiri kept her eyes down, but inside she was worried. She didn't have a boyfriend. So who, if anyone, was coming to get her?

"Load her in the back, boys," the boss shouted to the other men behind him, "We're taking this little girl on a hike."

---

Narumi sighed as he started to pack his backpack with things he would need, making a mental checklist as he went along.

"_First aid kit, check. Food, check. Water, check. Blankets, check. Cell phone, check._"

He knew he couldn't drive to the place where Kiri was being held; he would have his driver take him to the base and he would ride his bike to the meeting place. He couldn't jeopardize this situation at all.

Just as he finished, Kanako walked into his room. Before he could ask, she gave her explanation.

"I wanted to give this to you so that I could ask you…"

Kanako walked forward and gave Narumi the paper.

"Please," she said beginning to cry, "please save my best friend."

She ran out of the room as Narumi sat down to fill out the paper.

"_I will Kanako. I will definitely save her from whoever this is._"

---

Narumi made it to the 5th level shortly after dusk. He looked around, but did not see anyone near him, so he sat on a bench in front of the souvenir shop. It was not long before he heard footsteps.

"Narumi Shogo? It seems you must be serious about getting this girl back," said the boss as he tossed Kiri's jacket at Narumi's feet.

"What did you do to her you sick bastards?" Narumi yelled as he bent down to pick up the jacket.

"We didn't touch her in that way, if that's what you mean. She looks like a boy. Heh. You may want to hurry and give us the papers so you can find her. It gets mighty cold in the mountains at night."

"What?" Narumi asked surprised at his realization. He ran forward to attack the boss, but was punched in the jaw by one of the other men and knocked to the ground.

The boss came forward and opened the mania envelope with the papers and after a brief reading motioned for his followers to go back to where they came from.

"She's that way," he motioned to the south side of the mountain and walked off as Narumi got to his feet.

"Hold on, Kiri," he said as he ran to his bicycle, "just hold on."

---

Kiri let out a soft whimper as the branch lurched again. She was tied up and dangling over a cliff from a tree that was quite old. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks.

"_Please, someone save me._"


	3. Chapter 3

-1So it seems I inadvertently created a literal cliffhanger in the last chapter. Lol. How fun. Anyway, sorry this chapter took a bit longer, but no matter how many times I wrote it, the whole thing seemed off. Oh well. As always I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know about it in a review :

Skin Deep

Chapter 3

Narumi made his way through the foliage trying to cover as much ground as he could before the night settled in completely. It was starting to get cold. He shuddered at the thought of what might happen if he didn't get to Kiri in time.

It was almost completely dark when he came to an open space illuminated by the moon. Walking forward, he was suddenly aware that he was on a ledge maybe 50 feet from the next level. A sound caught his ear's attention, and he turned and walked slowly toward a low, whimpering sound. That was when he saw Kiri, dangling precariously from an unstable branch over the edge of the mountain.

"Kiri…" he breathed in relief and worry.

Kiri, over hearing this, lifted her gaze to where the voice came from.

"Narumi-senpai?"

Narumi walked around the tree to assess the situation. Without choice or warning, he ran and jumped at Kiri from an angle. The rope snapped the branch with their combined weight, but the sideways momentum threw them safely back to land.

Narumi quickly recovered and assisted Kiri in getting out of the ropes that bound her. He could barely see, but the light was just bright enough that he could see the shiny tracks that lined the sides of her face.

"You were crying," he stated, more of a statement than a question. A nod was her only response as he pulled out his cell phone to call for help. "Put on your jacket," he muttered while calling. When he was done with the phone call, he walked over to where Kiri was sitting and picked her up.

"Wha-" she began.

"We moving to the main road so we can be found easily."

He thought that she would argue or squirm in his hold, but the surprisingly docile Kiri laid her head against his chest and didn't say another word. Narumi looked down to the top of her head and then pack to the path ahead of him.

---

Kiri was sent into the Intensive Care Unit, while Narumi was bandaged up in a small check-up room. No matter how much he yelled, begged, or haggled, since he wasn't a family member, he wasn't allowed to see her. Seiji arrived about a quarter of an hour later and allowed Narumi to enter with him.

Narumi was speechless upon entering the bright, white room. Kiri had few tubes in her, but she did have many bandages. What was most startling, however, was the pale complexion. The normally annoyed or bored expression on her face was replaced with a calm, sleeping face that somehow reminded Narumi of death. In fact, the only sound coming from her side of the room was a faint _bleep, bleep_…

"Dad… Narumi-senpai…"

The two rushed forward to look closer at the girl who's eyes were still closed.

"Kiri," Seiji said with much relief in his voice, "I thought you might still be unconscious."

"I was woken up by _someone's_ loud yelling." Kiri replied. She tried to glare at Narumi, but to him, the glare was unenthusiastic and lacked its normal punch. Even though she didn't seem truly upset, Narumi felt both miffed and guilty that he had been the one to wake her from her rest.

"I'll be going then," Narumi said in a monotone voice. He turned to leave, but was stopped by Seiji's arm.

"Stay with her till I get back from calling her mother." He said while walking toward the door. He turned, gave Kiri a pointed look, opened the door, and stepped into the hall.

Narumi watched as the former hairstyle champion left the room, then turned to face his daughter. She was looking the other direction, out a window with a view of the moon, but her eye flickered towards him a few times before he sat down in a chair near the bed.

"I'm sorry this happened," he said in an unusually remorseful voice. He looked up to see her staring back at him. Her eyes were unreadable and unnerving. "You really didn't need-"

"I did what I had to," she replied looking down at her scratched and bruised arms.

He found himself becoming angry at her response and stood up abruptly.

"What do you mean you did what you had to do!? If you had waited for myself and the guys to get there you wouldn't have been in this situation to begin with."

"If I had waited for you, your sister and Kanako would have been taken instead. I could handle a situation like that better than they can."

"Better!? You call that better? What would have happened if you had gotten more seriously hurt? You're a girl. Don't think you can do something so rash and not get hurt in the process! You made everyone worry…"

She looked back out the window. "I made everyone worry… I'm sorry."

Narumi analyzed her face and slowly sat back down.

"There's no need to be sorry. We're all relieved that you're safe though."

Still not facing him, Kiri sighed. "Thank you…" she said softly.

"Wha-?"

"You're the reason I'm safe. Thank you very much."

Narumi was shocked for a moment and was about to respond when Seiji walked back into the room with the phone pressed against his ear.

"Your mother wants to know if you'd like her to come home."

Kiri looked at Narumi before focusing on her father.

"It's okay, but may I speak with her over the phone?"

Seiji handed her the phone, and Narumi stood to leave the room. He looked back at Kiri with her usual unreadable expression in place.

"You're welcome…" he whispered before stepping outside.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I am back. Summer has started and I will now be keeping at least a semi-consistent schedule (its wishful thinking, but I'll try). In any case, without further ado, here is the next chapter of Skin Deep.

Skin Deep

Chapter 4

Narumi sat looking out the window of the SP club room, turning the events that had occurred over in his head. It had been two days since the kidnapping incident and there had not been any news from the Koshiba household - at least according to Ochiai. All Narumi knew was that Kiri had in fact been released from the hospital the day before since her injuries were not so serious. He wanted to speak to her about what had happened that night, but knew that she would probably try to act as though nothing had happened.

Narumi supposed that it was for the best to put the scary memory behind them, but he also felt that he should warn Koshiba not to do something stupid like that ever again. _"Not that she would listen,"_ he noted to himself. His telling her would be solely for his benefit alone. Then again, he could do nothing as long as she was nowhere to be found.

"Kiri-chan!"

Narumi was startled from his musings by the commotion outside the room and quickly went and opened the door to the hallway. In front of him was an excited Kanako who was squeezing a slightly uncomfortable looking Kiri. They were surrounded by the other members of SP who had obviously just finished with whatever tasks they had been doing before heading to the meeting. Noticing Kiri's discomfort, Narumi ushered everyone inside. After everyone was seated and settled down, Ochiai began.

"To be frank, we're not meeting our expected income levels," he began slowly, fearing Narumi's response would awaken Kiri who had fallen asleep on a desk only moments after entering the club room. He was right to be cautious. Though everyone was trying to forget the events of days before, a layer of tension still hung about the room.

"What do you mean we're not reaching our expected income levels?" Narumi shouted as he paced the front of the room waving his hands wildly. Ochiai sighed and pushed Narumi into a chair while stealing a glance at the undisturbed Kiri before continuing with his announcement.

"We've been doing well the last few months, but we're not picking up recognition among even the mediocre fashion and beauty media. I have, however, already spoken to a friend of my family's who works for a magazine. He is willing to do an article on us. Also, I have set up an interview with the local TV station to do a segment about our work."

Narumi looked up.

"You did that already?"

Ochiai looked over the rim of his glasses.

"Did you expect anything less?"

Addressing the other members of the club again, Ochiai continued. "This Saturday, Narumi and I will have an interview with the scheduling assistant and the director to determine a good time for our commercial to be filmed. With this in mind, please don't make any plans for the next few weekends. Also, on Sunday we will have an interview with B-magazine and the corresponding photo shoot will be held Monday after school."

Narumi signaled Ochiai to stop.

"That means everyone is getting their hair cut and makeup done to my standards. That includes you too, Mussy-Head."

The group members all turned to said girl, who was still asleep at her chosen desk.

"Koshiba!" Narumi yelled, possibly louder than necessary.

"…mmmhhhmmm? The tired teen looked up to meet the eyes of her annoyed senpai.

"Just say 'yes,'" Narumi said slowly.

Not in the mood to argue, Kiri nodded an affirmative and lay her head back down. Narumi was about to argue, but upon realizing that he had won, settled for a smirk and let Ochiai continue the briefing of their next school make-over.


End file.
